AROUND TOWN

Fred Mitchell: Terry Bradshaw feels for young QBs

September 21, 2008|By Fred Mitchell

The booing, the ridiculing, the second-guessing ...

Terry Bradshaw wonders how young quarterbacks these days are able to cope.

"Back in the early '70s, the NFL didn't have all the television shows and the 24/7 radio sports talk," he said. "I can't imagine the environment with the media coverage now. You have to take a deep breath and surround yourself with your friends and focus on your football family. You have to find a comfort zone so that you can protect yourself."

Bradshaw, a Hall of Fame quarterback with the Pittsburgh Steelers and currently an NFL analyst for Fox Sports, has observed the fan abuse heaped on Bears quarterback Rex Grossman and will be watching as Kyle Orton offers himself up for public scrutiny when the Bears face Tampa Bay in Sunday's home opener at Soldier Field.

After being drafted out of Louisiana Tech in 1970, a skittish Bradshaw threw for only six touchdowns and 24 interceptions his rookie year.

"With the way I played early in my career, I would have never made it in the National Football League. I would have been released," Bradshaw said of the pressure to succeed immediately.

"I need six, seven or eight games of good solid work to see how it goes for Kyle Orton. The defense is playing lights out and that is a great formula for a young kid. I played with a great defense and a great running game. As a young quarterback (in the mid-'70s), I averaged like 17 passes a game. It was a perfect formula."

Bradshaw has been very candid about his being diagnosed with clinical depression and suffering from anxiety attacks. He empathizes with Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young, who reportedly talked about suicide after he recently was booed by his home fans before suffering a knee injury.

"It's unfortunate that it's a headliner," Bradshaw said. "You can get depressed and young kids have to deal with failure, especially a superstar like Vince. This might have been the first time he has ever been booed. This might be the first time in his athletic career that he has ever been questioned. He's thinking: 'Nobody likes me.' It's a pretty devastating thing.

"The negative things in Pittsburgh. ... I took them personally. And then I really got to be a nasty guy. I would say '[Bleep] this. I'll show those [bleeps]. I had never before talked like that. I got ticked off and I took that anger and got through it. And I had a coach then (Chuck Noll) who wasn't exactly lovey-dovey. He wouldn't say anything good to me either."

The Bears and the Steelers each finished with 1-13 records in 1969. A coin flip decided who got the No. 1 draft pick in 1970. The Steelers won it and Bradshaw led them to four Super Bowl titles. What if the Bears had won that coin toss?

"It's so much fun for all of us to wonder," Bradshaw said. "You wouldn't have had Jack Lambert, you wouldn't have had Mel Blount or Franco [Harris]. We wouldn't have had all of that [with the Bears].

"So maybe we would have won just three [Super Bowls]," Bradshaw said with a laugh. "It's fun to talk about. Chicago would have been a great city for me too. I would have loved it."

Word on the street

Connie Payton, widow of Bears Hall of Fame running back Walter Payton, is engaged to be married Oct. 18 to Chicagoan Michael Strotter. Walter Payton died of cancer on Nov. 1, 1999, at 45. ... There will be a memorial event for the late Tribune columnist Terry Armour at 4 p.m. Monday at U.S. Cellular Field. The event is open to the public on what would have been Armour's 47th birthday. He passed away Dec. 28, 2007. His widow, LaNell Armour, his former radio partner Stan Lawrence, Steve Dahl and many others will be there to share memories. The ceremony will take place on the White Sox dugout. Visit www.stanandterry.com for more details. ...

Local attractions

The Officer Michael A. Ceriale Memorial Foundation will hold a fundraising event at the "Wrigley Done Right" rooftop and clubhouse at 3621 N. Sheffield on the evening of the first Cubs playoff game. Ceriale, then a Chicago police officer, was killed 10 years ago at 26 while on surveillance near a gang-infested housing development. The Ceriale Foundation has funded a scholarship at Gordon Tech, his alma mater and sponsored the "Courage" node at the Gold Star Memorial Park near Soldier Field. For ticket info, contact Betsy Shepherd at 312-307-3958 or Betsy.Shepherd@gmail.com. ... The West Side Rooters Ball will be at 8 p.m. Thursday at Harry Caray's in Wrigleyville. The event benefits JDRF. Scheduled to attend are Cubs catcher Geovany Soto (event chairman), Aramis Ramirez, Carlos Marmol and Ernie Banks. Call 312-595-4554 or visit www.westsiderooters.com.